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Iceland Geography 2018

SOURCE: 2018 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES











Iceland Geography 2018
SOURCE: 2018 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK AND OTHER SOURCES


Page last updated on February 28, 2018

Location:
Northern Europe, island between the Greenland Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of the United Kingdom

Geographic coordinates:
65 00 N, 18 00 W

Map references:
Arctic Region

Area:
total: 103,000 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 100,250 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 2,750 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 109

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; about the same size as Kentucky
Area comparison map: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania; about the same size as Kentucky

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
4,970 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
temperate; moderated by North Atlantic Current; mild, windy winters; damp, cool summers
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mostly plateau interspersed with mountain peaks, icefields; coast deeply indented by bays and fiords

Elevation:
mean elevation: 557 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Hvannadalshnukur 2,110 m (at Vatnajokull Glacier)

Natural resources:
fish, hydropower, geothermal power, diatomite

Land use:
agricultural land: 18.7% arable land 1.2%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 17.5%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 0.3%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 81% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
NA
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
Iceland is almost entirely urban with half of the population located in and around the capital of Reykjavik; smaller clusters are primarily found along the coast in the north and west

Natural hazards:
earthquakes and volcanic activity
volcanism: Iceland, situated on top of a hotspot, experiences severe volcanic activity; Eyjafjallajokull (1,666 m) erupted in 2010, sending ash high into the atmosphere and seriously disrupting European air traffic; scientists continue to monitor nearby Katla (1,512 m), which has a high probability of eruption in the very near future, potentially disrupting air traffic; Grimsvoetn and Hekla are Iceland's most active volcanoes; other historically active volcanoes include Askja, Bardarbunga, Brennisteinsfjoll, Esjufjoll, Hengill, Krafla, Krisuvik, Kverkfjoll, Oraefajokull, Reykjanes, Torfajokull, and Vestmannaeyjar

Environment - current issues:
water pollution from fertilizer runoff; inadequate wastewater treatment

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Transboundary Air Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
strategic location between Greenland and Europe; westernmost European country; Reykjavik is the northernmost national capital in the world; more land covered by glaciers than in all of continental Europe


NOTE: 1) The information regarding Iceland on this page is re-published from the 2018 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Iceland Geography 2018 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Iceland Geography 2018 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
  a) The assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
  b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order






This page was last modified 28-Feb-18
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